Adjustable bed



Feb. 5, 1957 D. c. TRAVIS 2,779,951

ADJUSTABLE BED Filed July 1, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l D. C. TRAVISADJUSTABLE BED 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 5, 1957 Filed July 1, 1950 D. C.TRAVIS ADJUSTABLE BED Feb. 5, 1957 Filed July 1, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3flu/6%: Dozwflzihs.7nadi5 W PM Feb. 5, 1957 D. c. TRAVIS 2,779,951

ADJUSTABLE BED Filed July 1,, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 WP $14M 1 M 'Feb. 5,1957 v D. c. TRAVIS I 2,779,951

ADJUSTABLE BED Filed July 1,1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q'Mey4 2,779,951Patented Feb. 5, 1957 ADJUSTABLE BED Don Carlos Travis, Kenosha, Wis.,assignor to Simmons Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication July 1, 1950, Serial No. 171,654

8 Claims. (Cl. --69) This invention relates generally to adjustable bedsand, more particularly, to the type of bed having an articulatedbed-bottom frame suitable for hospital use.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a bed bottom of theinclinable type which is motor-actuated so as to be adjustable between avariety of positions with a minimum of effort; to provide an improvedmotoractuated adjusting means for a bed of this type; to provide amotor-actuated bed bottom which is movable out of horizontal position toan inclined position and vice versa by the action of an electric motor,the power connection to which is automatically interrupted at limitpositions; to provide a bed of this type in which alternative limitpositions of the head section of the bed bottom are selectible at andbelow the normal horizontal bed position; to provide an articulated bedbottom in which the foot section is indirectly actuated through itsconnection with an adjacent bed bottom section but which is separatelymanually adjustable to several alternative positions and returnableautomatically to the horizontal from at least one of said alternativepositions as the remaining bed bottom sections are being shifted from aninclined position to the horizontal bed position.

Other objects will appear and the invention will be better understood byreferring to the following specification and to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the bed bottom of thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bed-bottom illus trated in Figure 1,showing the bed bottom in horizontallyextended bed position;

Figure 3 is a similar side elevational view showing the bed bottomsections in an inclined position;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the foot section of the bed-bottomshowing the lower limit of independent movement of the foot section;

Figure 5 is similar to Figure 4 and shows the foot section at itsextreme upper position;

Figure 6 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the linkage whichsupports the foot section of the bed;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the motor-actuated adjusting means which hasbeen partially cut away to show the inner construction;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a circuit arrangement which may beemployed with the motor-actuated bed of the present invention;

Figures 10 and 11 are perspective views of the shiftable stop whichdetermines the lower limit positions of the head section of the bed;

Figure 12 is a side elevation of the stop shown in Figures l0 and 11,showing the operative engagement of a portion of the head section withthe stop;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary sectional view of the foot section supportinglinkage, taken' on the line 13-13 of Figure 6; and

Figure 14 is a fragmentary sectional view of the bed bottom adjustingmechanism, taken on the line 1414 of Figure 7.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention depicted in the drawingscomprises an articulated or plural section bed bottom 15 which ispivotally mounted upon a subframe or underframe 16 for swinging andshifting movement between a horizontally-extended bed position (Figures1 and 2), and an inclined position (Figure 3), with an infinite numberof intermediate positions. To shift the bed bottom 15 between itsseveral positions, motordriven adjusting means 17 are connected betweenthe sub-frame l6 and one of the sections of the articulated bed bottom15. The sub-frame is supported at either end upon a pair of vertical endframes 18 in the usual manner to dispose the bed bottom at a convenient.level above the floor.

The sub-frame 16 includes a pair of horizontal side rails 19 which aredesirably formed of angle iron and which are provided at theirrespective ends with a pair of hooks 20 adapted to engage a pair ofspaced pins 21 on a mounting bracket 22 secured to the end frames 18. Tocomplete the sub-frame and to provide convenient mountings for variousparts of the structure, a number of cross members 23, 24 and 25 aredistributed at intervals along the side rails 19 and rigidly attachedthereto. The cross members, like the side rails, are desirablyfabricated from angle iron.

The articulated bed-bottom 15 comprises a generally rectangular borderframe 26, preferably also formed of angle iron, and a bed fabric 27,which is attached to the border frame 26 by a plurality of helicaltension springs 28 attached at small holes 29 spaced about the innerperiphery of the frame. The fabric 27 may be of the wire-link type, asillustrated, or any other convenient form.

The frame 26 is jointed along its sides to divide the bed bottom intohingedly connected sections including a head section 30, an intermediatesection 31 and a foot section 32. To prevent inbowing of the sides ofthe frame under the weight of the mattress and the occupant of the bed,spreader bars 33, 34, and 35, extending transversely of the framebeneath the fabric 27, are distributed along the bed bottom between itsends. These spreader bars are desirably formed of metal tubing and areU- shaped or downwardly bowed to provide clearance for the resilientdownward deflection of the bed fabric 27. The spreader bars 34 and 35,forming part of the head and foot sections, are desirably placed asclose as practicable to the intermediate section of the bed so as toeliminate the need in that section for a similar spreader bar to therebyprovide clearance space for the mounting of the motor-driven adjustingmeans on the sub-frame in a manner later to be more fully described.

The head section 39 is pivotally supported adjacent its hingedconnection with the intermediate section upon a pair of opposed brackets36 upstanding from the subframe side rails 19, the larger, end portionof the head section overhanging the brackets 36 in cantilever fashion.Depending from the head section and fixedly attached thereto is avertical brace 37 and a diagonal brace 38, the lower ends of which arepivotally connected to the extensible motor-driven adjusting member 17with which the bed bottom 15 is shifted. The lower portion of thediagonal brace 38 is offset inwardly from the side of the frame 26, andthe vertical brace 37 is attached to the spreader bar 34 rather thandirectly to the side of the frame 26 so as to dispose the extensiblemember 17 well between the side rails 19. As the member 17 is extended,the overhanging end portion of the head section 36 is swung upwardlyabout its pivotal connection with the brackets 36 and conversely, as theextensible member 17 is shortened, the end portion is swung downwardly.In

I? either case the shorter portion of the head section on the other sideof the bracket 36 swings in the opposite direction, carrying with it theintermediate section 33 of the bed bot-tom.

The intermediate section 31' i supported at one end by its hingedconnection to the head section and at a point adjacent its other end byshiftable links 39 pivotally connected at their upper ends to theintermediate section 31. and at their lower ends to the sub-frame siderails 19. It may thus be seen that the intermediate section moves inresponse to the head section through a definite path of movementdetermined by its connection to the head section and to the shiftinglinks The foot section 32 is supported by its hinged connection to theintermediate section 31 and by a pair of jointed links 49 one at eitherside of the bed he om.

Each supporting link 49 comprises a lower section 41 pivotally mountedon the side rail 19 and an upper section 42' pivoted to the lowersection. The foot section of the bed bottom normally rests upon rollers43 mounted at the upper end of the supporting links ill, which areprevented from collapsing by'the en agement of a pin 44- on the upperlink section with an abutment 45 on the lower section, as i most clearlyshown in Figure 6. This arrangement however also permits the upper linksection 42 to be swung independently toward the foot end of the bed, outof supporting position, for a purpose which will subsequently appear.The upper and lower sections of the jointed link it) are normally movedin unison by a draw bar 45 pivotally connected at one of its ends to theintermediate section 31, and at its other end to the joint between theupper and lower sections of the link in. It is therefore apparent thatthe foot section of the bed is automatically shiftable in response tothe movement of the intermediate section 31 through a path determined byits pivotal connection with the intermediate section and by the rise andfall of the rollers 45 as :the jointed links 4!) are shifted by the drawbar as.

Thus, when the head section is horizontally disposed, the intermediateand foot sections are coplanarly aligned with the head section to form abed, as illustrated in Pigures l and 2, and as the head section iraised, the intermediate and foot sections follow th movement of thehead section until the bed bottom assumes a chair-like atttiude, shownin Figure 3, when the head section reaches its upper limit position. Inthis position of the bed bottom the intermediate section and the footsection both slope downwardly from their common hinge connection so thatthe knees of the bed occupant may be comfortably flexed. However, itwill be apparent that because the foot section 32 is attached at onlyone of its ends, it is independently swingable about its hingedconnection with the intermediate section.

To permit the adjustment of the foot section independently to the headand intermediate sections, a pawl 47 i pivotally suspended fnom the footsection at a point between the intermediate section and the jointed link40. This pawl comprises a pair of depending links 4%, one at either sideof the foot section, connected by a U-shaped cross rod 49. To supportthe foot section above its normal position as determined by the roller43, a number of notches or abutment dl and 52 are provided in the upperedge of th draw bar 46 for selective engagement by the cross rod 49 ofthe pawl. These notches may be located so as to achieve any desiredsuperelevation of the foot section in any practicable number of steps.However, at least two of the notches, 5t? and 52, are desirably locatedso that the foot section may in one instance be elevated to a positioncoplanar with the inter mediate section while the head section occupiesits extreme elevated position, as illustrated in Figure 5 and, inanother instance to a horizontal position while the head section remainsso elevated, both attitudes being important in certain type of fracturecases. To raise the foot section to its super-elevated positions, asdetermined by the notches 50-52, a handle 53 is provided at the extremeend of the foot section 32 so as to be conveniently grasped by anattendant standing at the foot of the bed. This handle desirably extendsacross the end of the foot section of the bed as shown in Figure l and,furthermore, is oi such height as :to simultaneously serve as aretaining abutment for the mattress which would otherwise tend to creeplongitudinally as the bed bottom i shifted from one position to another.

The horizontal attitude of the foot section, as determined by theengagement of the pawl rod 49 with the notch 52 when the head sectionoccupies its upper limit position is, as mentioned above, extremelyimportant in certain fracture cases. The amount of added elevation ofthe foot section thus produced, although critical, is not very great,but if the bed bottom were returned to bed position without disengagingthe pawl from the notch 52, that added elevation of the foot sectionabove its normally horizontal position atop the rollers 43 mightseriously affect the patient-occupant. To prevent the consequences ofsuch oversight, automatic means is provided for the return of the footsection to its normallyhorizontal position on the rollers 43 as the bedbottom is restored to bed position.

In the illustrated embodiment this automatic return feature takes theform of a plate 54 extending upwardly from the side rail 19 and havingan inclined upper surface 55 disposed in the path of the pawl rod 49 asthe bed bottom is shifted from its angular position to its bed position.As the pawl rod engages the cam surface 55, it is forced upwardly out ofthe notch 52, as shown in Figure 6, permitting the foot section to cometo rest on the rollers 43. As the bed bottom 15' is returned to itsnormal bed position, the rollers 43 travel upwardly in an are about thepivotal connection of the link 40 with the sub-frame, and engage theunderside of the foot section frame practically simultaneously with thedisengagement of the pawl rod and notch.

As stated above, the upper and lower section are normally moved as aunit by the draw bar 46, but to permit the foot section 32 to bedepressed below its normal position as determined by its engagement withthe rollers 43 at the upper link section 42, the upper section isseparately swingable about the lower section 41 in a direction todisengage the pin 44 and abutment 45 until the roller 43 rests on thesub-frame side rail 19, as shown in Figure 4. With the jointed link 40in this attitude, the foot section 32 of the bed bottom may be lowereduntil it rests upon the lowersections, 41 of the links 4t). To providefor the simultaneous movement of the outer sections 42, these sectionsare desirably provided with a connecting rod 56 extending between thesections. An additional notch 57, not engageable with the pawl rod 49,is provided in the draw bar 46 to provide cleanance space for the crossrod 56 as the link 40 moves toward the head of the bed during movementof the bed bottom from its bed position to its inclined position, asshown in Figure 3.

The actuating means for effecting the movement of the head section 30,and hence the entire bed bottom 15, comprises an extensible member 17pivotally connected at one end to an angle bracket 53 mounted on thecross member 24. of the sub-frame, and at its other end to the braces 37and 38 depending from the head section 3%. Within the extensible memberis an elongated screw 59 which is turned by amotor 60 through a speedreduction unit 61 comprising a worm driven by the motor and a worm gearwhich is keyed or otherwise secured for rotation with the screw 59.

The screw 59 is journalled within the worm gear housing whichconstitutes a part of the member 17 md which is preferably formedintegrally with the motor frame. The other element of the extensiblemember 17 comprises an elongated tube 62 having at one end a shaftextension 63 which is secured to the tube by means of a plug 64 or othersuitable means. The shaft extension 63 is journalled within a fitting 65with which the member 17 is pivotally secured to the braces 37 and 38depending from the head section of the bed bottom and through which thethrust exerted by the extensible member 17 is transmitted to the headsection. Within the tube 62 adjacent its open end, there is secured anut 66 engaging the threaded portion of the screw and a guide bushing 67which is of such inner diameter as to slip freely over the threaded andunthreaded portions of the screw. The bushing 67 effectively journalsthe screw 59, thereby stiffening the extensible member 17 to prevent anytendency to flex and bind the nut 66 as a result of the dimensionalallowances essential to a running fit between the nut and screw. Anouter tube 68, fixedly mounted on the reduction gear housing, closelyencompasses the nut tube 62 in telescope fashion and serves as a guardfor the threaded portion of the screw which would otherwise be exposedwhen the member 17 is fully extended.

Keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft extension 63 is a bevel gear 69which engages a similar gear 7t) fixed to a shaft 71 rotatably supportedin the fitting 65 at right angles to the axis of the shaft extension 63.Pivotally connected to the shaft 71 by means of a suitabletongueand-fork connection 72 is a manually operable crank 73 which isextensible into operating position beneath the sub-frame for rotation ina substantially horizontal plane, and retractable upwardly toward thebed fabric to a nonrotatable position in engagement with a forkedlocking bracket '74 extending inwardly from the fitting 65. To retainthe crank in retracted position within the locking bracket, a springclip 75 is provided. The gears 69 and 7h are normally covered by abox-like guard 90 which is fitted to the fitting 65 and secured in placethereon by a screw 91 (see particularly Fig. 14).

The operation of the actuating means is as follows: when the motor isenergized and the screw 59 is rotated, the nut tube 62, restrainedagainst rotation by the engagement of the manually operated crank 73with the locking bracket 74, is advanced or retracted along the screw,thereby lengthening or shortening the member 17, to raise or lower thehead section 30.

In the event of power failure, or for some reason it should be desirableto operate the bed manually, the crank '73 may be extended to itsoperating position and turned to rotate the nut-tube through the bevelgears 69 and 70, thereby lengthening or shortening the member 17. Inview of the irreversible nature of the reduction gear associated withthe screw, it is unnecessary to provide additional means for restrainingthe screw 59 against rotation since it is impossible for the worm gearto drive the worm. Furthermore, the lead of the screw is desirably suchthat the thrust on the member 17 due to the weight of the bed bottom andoccupant will be ineffective to rotate the nut-tube 62, therebyeliminating the need for relocking the crank after each manualoperation. It will be understood, however, that before motor-drivenoperation may be resumed, it will be necessary to again lock the crankin its retracted position in order to prevent rotation of the nut-tube.

To limit the upward swinging movement of the head section, irrespectiveof whether the bed is being manually or electrically operated, a shortangle bracket 76 is mounted on the inside of the head-sectionsupporting-bracket 36 in the path of the downwardly moving portion ofthe head section 3%. A limit switch 77 mounted on the angle bracket 76is suitably connected in the electrical circuit so as to interrupt powerto the motor when the switch is operated. The switch housing issufliciently sturdy mechanically so that the engagement of the headsection with the switch housing is eifective to prevent further swingingmovement of the head section, in the event of manual operation.

The lower limit of travel of the head section is determined by theengagement of the spreader bar 33 with resilient pads 78 carried by ashiftable frame 79 pivotally mounted on the sub-frame cross member 23.The shiftable frame carries a switch operator 80 (Figs. 10, 11, and 12)which is effective, upon engagement with the spreader bar 33 when thehead section is in horizontal position, to operate a limit switch 81carried by the cross member 23 to interrupt power to the motor. Theframe 79 may be shifted out of the path of the spreader bar in a mannermore fully described hereinafter to permit the head section to bedepressed to a lower-than-horizontal, or shock, position.

In Figure 9, there is shown a circuit arrangement which is illustrativeof several which might be employed with the motor-actuated bed of thepresent invention. The particular circuit illustrated is a directcurrent system including a D. C. motor 60 connected through a normallyopen double-throw switch 82 and through the aforementioned limitswitches 77 and 81 to a suitable source of power. When the doublethrowswitch 82 is urged in one direction, power is applied to both thearmature and field of the motor so as to effect rotation of the shaft inone direction to raise or lower the bed. When the head section engagesone or the other of the limit switches, power to field and armature issimultaneously interrupted and can be reestablished only by urging thedouble-throw switch 82 in the opposite direction, whereupon the rotationof the screw 59 will be reversed and will continue until either theother limit switch is operated or the double-throw switch is released,the motion of the head section being stopped respectively at theopposite limit position or at some intermediate position. Other suitablecircuit arrangements may be employed depending upon the nature of thepower available and the particular type of motor desired. Thedouble-throw switch 82 is preferably located within reach of the bedoccupant, for example, at the side of the bed bottom 15 at theapproximate location of the extended hand of the occupant, asillustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

The details of the shiftable frame 79 and lower limitswitch operator 80are more fully shown in Figures l0, l1 and 12. The frame 79 comprises aninverted U-shaped flat metal bar, the legs of which are pivotallysupported upon brackets 83 secured to the sub-frame cross member 23 soas to be shiftable between an upright position (Figure 10) and aninclined position (Figure 11) determined by its engagement with asuitable stop such, for example, as an angle clip 84 (Fig. 12) pivotallysupported upon the brackets 83 co-axially with the frame 79. The frame79 is manually shiftable from its upright to its inclined position andis maintained at either position by a tensioned coil spring 85 connectedat one end to the shiftable frame and at its other end to the crossmember 23 so as to provide a resilient over-center action. Carried bythe shiftable frame 79 and disposed in the downward path of the spreaderbar 33 is a switch operator 89 which, in the illustrated ebodiment,takes the form of a plunger which is downwardly depressable against theaction of a compression spring 86 encompassing the plunger shaft. Thecompression spring is retained at its upper end by a head 87 formed onthe plunger shaft and at its lower end by its abutment with theshiftable frame 79 through which the plunger extends. Secured to thecross member immediately beneath the plunger is thelimit switch 81 and aU-shaped spring leaf 88, the free end of which is interposed between theplunger and the limit switch. It will be apparent that as the headsection 30 is lowered to the horizontal position, the spreader bar 33engages the head of the plunger forcing it downwardly to actuate thelimit switch thereby interrupting power to the motor. If it be desiredto depress the head section below the horizontal, it is necessary onlyto shift the frame 79 toward the head end of the bed so as to carry theswitch-operator 80 out of the downward path of the spreader bar. Withthe shiftable frame so displaced, the head section may be furtherdepressed to the shock position which is deter 7 mined by the directengagement of the spreader bar with the spring leaf (Fig. 12), whereuponthe limit switch is again operated to open the power circuit to themotor.

Since the shock position of the bed bottom is seldom used, it isdesirable to provide automatic means for returning the shiftable frame'79 to its upright position as the head section is raised out of theshock position, thereby restoring the limit switch operator St) to itsnormal position. This automatic means takes the form of a projection 89formed by cutting out a portion of the legs of the shiftable frame 79and extending into the arcuate, downward path of the spreader bar 33when the frame 79 is in its inclined position, as indicated by thebroken lines in Figure 12. As the head section 30 and, hence, thespreader bar 33 travel downwardly, and before the spreader bar engagesthe spring leaf 88 to interrupt power to the motor, the spreader barengages the projection 89, tipping the frame 79 upwardlyover-the-center, the spring 35 bringing the cutout portion of the frame79 to bear against the spreader bar 33. Then, as the head section iselevated, the shiftable frame is again forced away from its uprightposition by the upwardly moving spreader bar, the movement of theU-shaped frame during the upward travel of the head section, however,being insufiicient to advance the shiftable frame overcenter. Therefore,when the spreader bar 33 is raised clear of the shiftable frame 79, theframe rebounds to its upright position under the action of the spring 85and is once more operable to limit the downward travel of the headsection at the horizontal position.

Although the invention has been described by reference to the specificembodiment illustrated in the drawings, variations and modificationsthereof may be made without departing from the scope of the inventionwhich is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an adjustable bed having a normally stationary supporting frameand a bed bottom frame pivotally mounted on said supporting frame forswinging movement about a horizontal axis; a stop member movably mountedon one of said frames and normally disposed to engage the other of saidframes to restrain said bed-bottom frame in a horizontal position, saidstop member being manually shiftable to a non-restraining position topermit said bed-bottom frame to be depressed below said horizontalposition, and resilient means connected between said stop member andsaid one frame and ac tuated by movement of said bed bottom framedownwardly from said horizontal position to restore said stop member toits restraining position when said bed-bottom frame is subsequentlyraised.

2. In an adjustable bed having a normally stationary sub-frame and a bedbottom including a section pivotally mounted on said sub-frame forswinging mot'ement about a horizontal axis; a shiftable stop memberpivoted on said sub-frame and normally disposed to abut said sectionthereby to restrain said section in a horizontal position, said stopmember being shiftable to a non-restraining position to permit saidsection to be depressed below said horizontal position, an over-centerspring for urging said stop member toward either of its positions, saidstop member, when disposed in said non-restraining position, having aportion engageable by said section when said section is moved below saidhorizontal position thereby to shift said spring over center to urgesaid stop member toward its restraining position, and said spring beingeffective to restore said stop member to its restraining position whensaid section is subsequently raised.

3. In a adjustable bed having a normally stationary supporting frame, abed bottom frame pivotally mounted on said supporting frame for swingingmovement about a horizontal axis, actuating means for shifting saidsection, an electric motor for driving said actuating means, and anelectrical circuit for connecting said motor to a source of powerincluding a disconnect switch on one of said frames and engageable bythe other of said frames for interrupting said circuit when said bedbottom frame is inclined downwardly from the horizontal; a switchoperator movably mounted on one of said frames and normally interposedbetween said switch and other of said frames and engageable by thelatter to operate said switch when said bed bottom frame is in ahorizontal position thereby to interrupt said circuit, said operatorbeing manually shiftable to an inoperative position to permit said bedbottom frame to be depressed below said horizontal position, andresilient means actuated by movement of said bed bottom frame downwardlyfrom said horizontal position to restore said operator to said normalposition when said bed bottom frame is subsequently raised.

4. In an adjustable bed having a normally stationary sub-frame, a bedbottom section pivotally mounted on said sub-frame for swinging movementabout a horizontal axis, actuating means for shifting said section, anelectric motor for driving said actuating means, and an electricalcircuit for connecting said motor to a source of power including adisconnect switch on said sub-frame for interrupting said circuit; thecombination of a shiftable switch operator pivotally mounted on saidsub-frame and normally interposed between said section and said switchand adapted to be engaged by said section to operate said switch tointerrupt said circuit when said section is horizontally disposed, saidoperator being shiftable to a non-operative position to permit saidsection to be depressed to a lower-than-horizontal, inclined position,said section being adapted to engage said switch to interrupt saidcircuit when said section reaches said lower position, and resilientmeans actuated by movement of said section downwardly from saidhorizontal position to restore said operator to its operative positionwhen said section is subsequently raised.

5. In an adjustable bed having a normally stationary sub-frame, a bedbottom section pivotally mounted on said sub-frame for swinging movementabout a horizontal axis, actuating means for shifting said section, anelectric motor for driving said actuating means, and an electricalcircuit for connecting said motor to a source of power including adisconnect switch on said sub-frame for interrupting said circuit; thecombination of a shiftable switch operator pivotally mounted on saidsub-frame and normally interposed between said section and said switchand adapted to be engaged by said section to operate said switch tointerrupt said circuit when said section is horizontally disposed, saidoperator being shiftable to a non-operative position to permit saidsection to be depressed to a lower-than-horizontal, inclined position,said section being adapted to engage said switch to interrupt saidcircuit when said section reaches said lower position, an over-centerspring for urging said operator toward either of its positions, saidoperator in said nonoperative position having a portion engageable bysaid section when said section is moved below said horizontal positionto shift said operator over-center toward its operative position wherebysaid operator is restored to said operative position when said sectionis subsequently raised.

6. An adjustable bed comprising a normally stationary sub-frame, a bedbottom including a foot section and an adjacent section hingedlyconnected to said foot section, means movably supporting said adjacentsection upon said sub-frame for shifting movement longitudinally of saidsub-frame, support means for said foot section including anupwardly-extending link pivotally connected at its lower end to saidsub-frame and a draw bar connecting said adjacent section and said link,said foot section normally resting on the upper end of said link, saiddrawbar having formed thereon an abutment, a pawl pivotally suspendedfrom said foot section and adapted to engage said abutment to supportsaid foot section independently of said upper link-end, and a cam onsaid sub-frame engageable with said pawl for disengaging said pawl fromsaid abutment when said adjacent section is shifted in one directionlongitudinally of said sub-frame.

7. In an adjustable bed having a normally stationary supporting frameand a bed bottom frame pivotally mounted on said supporting frame forswinging movement about a horizontal axis; a stop member movably mountedon one of said frames and normally disposed to engage the other of saidframes to restrain said bed bottom frame in a predetermined positionrelative to said supporting frame, said stop member being manuallyshiftable to a non-restraining position to permit said bed bottom frameto be depressed below said predetermined position, and resilient meansactuated by movement of said bed bottom frame below said predeterminedposition for restoring said stop member to its restraining position whensaid bed bottom frame is subsequently raised.

8. In an adjustable bed having a normally stationary supporting frameand a bed bottom frame pivotally mounted on said supporting frame forswinging movement about a horizontal axis; a stop member movably mountedon one of said frames and normally disposed to engage the other of saidframes to restrain said bed bottom frame in a predetermined positionrelative to said supporting frame, said stop member being manually 10shiftable to a non-restraining position to permit said bed bottom frameto be depressed below said predetermined position, and means actuated bymovement of said bed bottom frame below said predetermined position forrestoring said stop member to its restraining position when said bedbottom frame is subsequently raised.

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